The Five BE’s of Purity

Scripture: Psalm 24:3-4 : Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…

Whatever happened to purity? It’s a rare commodity today, but as believers, we should be reflecting the character of God. We need to be clean because God is clean. The prerequisite for service is cleanliness. It’s also the prerequisite for blessing. But how on earth are we going to remain pure in a world like this?

Be Careful What You See (2 Samuel 11:1-5). David’s sin began with simple sight. He rose one night, walked on the rooftop, and looked on the houses below. There David saw Bathsheba. Had he not seen her bathing, he would not have committed this sin. It’s true that David didn’t go out looking for Bathsheba. He accidentally saw her. But sometimes accidents happen on purpose, don’t they, like in a motel room, flipping through the channels on television? You need to be careful what you see (see Job 31:1). “Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn’t have in your home.” Many movies and TV programs aren’t fit for human consumption, let alone for a Christian. We must be careful what we see.

Be Careful Where You Go (Judges 16:1). Samson was a great champion for God, but his feet led him into trouble. In this passage, he went to Gaza, one of the Philistine cities. Samson had no business there. In Gaza, he saw a harlot and went to her. Later he went to the Valley of Sorek where he met Delilah (v. 4). Samson’s problem is that he went to all the wrong places. If we go to the wrong places, we’ll see the wrong things and become the wrong kind of people. (See 2 Timothy 2:22.)

Be Careful What You Desire (Judges 14:1-2). The greatest achievements in life are accomplished by those with passion. Do you remember Bob Feller? As a child, Bob loved to throw a baseball. By age five, he had spent hours every day pitching through a hole in a barn wall. At 10, his father provided him a playing field on the family farm. By thirteen, Bob was pitching for a local team. At age seventeen, he began playing for the Cleveland Indians. During his career, he had 266 wins and set a record 348 strikeouts in one season. Today he belongs to Baseball’s Hall of Fame. That’s not just due to his abilities, but also to the fact that he had one desire—baseball. What’s your desire? What drives your life? If our desire is to be clean before God, we’re careful what we see, where we go, and what we want.

Be Careful What You Think About (Ephesians 4:21-24). If being clean before God is not on your list of things to do today, you can think about anything you want. But if losing your purity concerns you, you must be careful what you think. Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.” Marcus Aurelius said, “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.” The Bible says, “As a man thinks in his heart [his mind], so is he.” (See Phil. 4:8). Are you pleased with the things that have entered your mind this week?

Be Careful Why You Live (1 John 3:1-3). Does life make sense for you? Or, as Shakespeare said, it is “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”? One of the best ways to lose your purity is to have nothing eternal to live for. According to 1 John 1:3, those with who have this hope in Christ purify themselves. If you don’t know Christ as Savior, how wonderful to know He can make you pure. If you’re a believer today, how wonderful to know He can keep you pure. He can help us live practical lives of daily purity, for He himself said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8)